Disclaimer: I do not own bleach, nor any of the materials associated with it (Except of course this fanfic, and even then I'm not really sure that I own this, with the way our governments are these days.)
I offer a sincere thank you to those of you that are keeping an eye on this progression of events and personalized thanks, as follows.
Ulquihimeforever321 – as my first and undoubtedly simplest review, a special thanks for starting the trend. And yes Orihime kicked some ass, and I have a bit more to add to that still… I think some of you may be pleasantly surprised.
Lamiko – I will be continuing now that I know there is some interest, though I am going to try and get a sort of, weekly update schedule.
Mystique 86 – I figured it was because no one was really interested enough to review, but now I suspect it just takes some time, once the dam breaks there may be more coming… And yes… damsel Orihime can be a pain.
NephandiMan – Dazzling review, in depth and thoughtful, (he) is honored to be on the receiving end of it. Keep an eye out to see where things are headed as I have a bit more already thought out, I just have yet to put it to words.
***SPOILER ALERT***
The cake is a lie
Chapter 4 –Happiness in Slavery
Orihime hadn't questioned what he'd said. Though the simple use of the word had made her heart start pounding in her chest, she knew that mentioning it might undermine the goal she was working toward so she remained silent until the shell enveloping Loly had disappeared. All the while her disembodied arm had been slowly simmering with an almost imperceptible golden glow, stripped out of reality one sliver at time, while reconstituting in the shell of Orihime's Sōten Kisshun, until there was no trace of it ever having been removed.
Slowly she rises to her feet and moves towards the window that Ulquiorra is still looking out. His reverie seems unusually deep, and even in her short time with him she can tell that he's very distracted. She runs through a million things that she could say, biting her lip lightly as she tries to consider the best one. The dull throbbing in her cheek, and stomach doesn't help her concentration, and almost absently she places her shell about herself, undoing the damage that Loly and Menoly had done to her.
It's not until she has completely healed herself that he finally turns around to face her. As the deep emerald of his eyes lock intently on her, her breathing starts coming a bit faster. Slowly he surveys the surroundings, then turns his gaze back on her. When he does finally speak to her in that now comforting monotone, she's all smiles.
"Orihime, if this keeps up, I will run out of suites to put you in." he remarks dryly, humorless expression regarding her. His gaze so intense sometimes that it weakens her knees and pulls a little whimpering sound from deep within her, and she's silently thankful that he doesn't seem to have noticed. She forces herself to break his gaze, looking around the room, the second suite to have been destroyed by events around her in single day.
"I-I, well… Master Ulquiorra, this is a large place, and I'm sure that we can still go through a few more before there aren't any left!" There's excitement in her voice, a happiness that is so incredibly contagious he has to actively struggle not to smile, a problem that he can't ever recall having had before. After only a few days in her presence she's begun to corrupt him in a way he'd never thought possible. It's a despicable change, carrying with it a weakness that's always been inherent to her being. But he doesn't mind that nearly so much anymore, and in fact, he's beginning to suspect that it may not actually be a weakness. It's that passion which has been able to pull her from the useless emotional state she was in, to this much more important frame of mind, and it was that passion that finally pushed her offenses to evolve.
But it isn't just a change in his mind that's begun to sway him… it's her touch, her eyes, that reiatsu, that are also having an effect on him, a decidedly physical one. It's something that she seems to be enforcing as well, though now he's fairly certain that she actually doesn't have any ulterior motive for it, she simply enjoys it. But he can't have her catching her off guard like she has so often since they met. His hand lifting from his pocket with measured ease, headed toward the ivory column of her throat.
Orihime sees the motion and her chin lifts up without hesitation. The power of his hand closes lightly around her neck, with his fingers curling about the back. He slowly allows his thumb to graze slowly over the quickening pulse that flutters there. She's a paradox that he can't seem to unravel. At first he had thought her trash, useless and completely unfit for the brutal life that was Hueco Mundo. But that wasn't entirely true, and he was forced to admit he'd judged her too quickly, failing to see strengths that were now so incredibly obvious. He closes his eyes, concentrating solely on the feel of her skin under his, and the graceful flow of her reiatsu.
He begins to focus on that curious well of spirit energy and directs his own towards it. Not the brutish, hulking wall he had hit her with before, but a slow carefully controlled push, one that she could freely push back against. And push she does, as soon as she realizes she's not being smothered by it she begins to exert herself and throw her own aura back against his. The two opposing energies meet, crackling in discontent between each other, but slowly the edges of each become indistinct. Gold and violet blending into black and green as their combined wills begin to swirl heatedly against one another. He's not sure exactly what he's doing, but at that moment he's one of the only two things that exist in the universe. He feels her reiryoku start to become accommodating, his reiatsu streaking through her being almost without resistance now. Though she pushes, she simply doesn't possess the force in her spiritual pressure to slither through his dark, dense reiryoku.
For her it feels like she's pressing up against a dark and massive pillar that could neither be moved nor avoided, but seemed to seep into her every pore. To him, it felt like soaring through liquid silk, a warm and pliable sheath that slides across the strength of his essence.
He stumbles across a realization, almost missing it in its subtlety, his eyes flying open as he slowly begins to pull back from her. The world starts coming back as his senses are no longer dominated by that union. The room is just as it had been, with Loly and Menoly prone and silent on the floor. He can hear Orihime breathing heavily, seeing the exertion slowly smoothing from her features. Her hands have once again nested against him, holding tightly as he realizes she's about to fall. He slips his other arm around her waist and helpfully pulls her against him where she snuzzles in without pause. The moves comes to him with unexpected ease, and he's forced to think that perhaps she was right, perhaps somewhere deep down he did still have a heart. It was starting to become evident to him that whatever it was that welled inside her was having an effect on him as well.
"Do you accept me, Orihime?" He plants the seed then and there, his mind already working over a theory that he knows he'll have to test. He pulls back slightly from her, and his hand moves from her throat, to hover over her chest. A soft green energy radiating from his fingertips as he stares intently down at her. At first she catches her breath, a moment of worry taking over her, before she looks up to him, and quickly nods without speaking. She can still feel the way his reiatsu had been threading through her being. This time it was utterly non-threatening, simply exploring the very depths of her soul with his. It had been an intimacy that she hadn't actually been prepared for. It had left her panting under the strain, and even though she could sense he was being exceedingly careful, she had still been forced to send almost all of her will just to keep even with his gentle push into her. Despite its intensity, she knew that she loved the feeling of it, the feeling of him inside her like that. It conjures images of an entirely different nature and brings a furious blush to her cheeks.
"There will soon come a time, that I'll need to you to completely accept me inside you, to become a vessel for me. Can you do that?" He speaks slowly, deliberately to her. All the while his eyes remain fixated on hers. She draws a long shuddering breath, which is entirely necessary at this point. But when she exhales it comes out in a moan that, while not necessary, was entirely unavoidable. She nods exuberantly and bites her lip, struggling to say something but finding herself unable. She's breathless, and having problems remembering to inhale. She catches herself holding her breath under his stare, unable or unwilling to do anything when he's looking at her so intently.
"I must attend to another matter, Orihime. See to it that…" He's interrupted as she lifts on impulse, her body sliding against his as she squirms against him. The images running through her mind drive her, almost without thought. Her head lifts, her eyes closing as she quickly places her lips against his. It's brief, soft, and light. It's also the first kiss between them and it causes his eyes to widen yet again as the sensation of her lips on his temporarily erases all thought. She's only there a few moments, seconds that are rich in her smell and her touch, but it's enough to almost completely derail his thoughts.
"…to… to see to it that Loly, and Menoly leave you in peace from here on, have them report to me when they awake." He finishes, forgetting where he was and stumbling over the first few words after the kiss, amazingly his voice remains completely unchanged.
He feels that same ache in him from her damnably soft lips, and can't help it as an annoyed expression crosses his features. He's about to push her away, when she slips back of her own accord, demurring as she folds her hands in front of her and lowers her eyes. She's embarrassed, her cheeks burning hotly from that impulsive move, but her lips are curved in a sweet little smile that again has him struggling not to mimic it.
"You are insufferable, Orihime Inoue." He growls it to her softly, a gruffness in his voice that she's starting to enjoy a little too much. She nods quickly in affirmation, bowing respectfully to him as he moves past her. He stops at the threshold of her room and looks back over his shoulder, green eyes gazing over her as he does.
"Two floors up this tower, just past the Espada's main meeting hall you will find a row of doors. You are to take the fourth one down. This is where you will be staying from now on." His head turns back forward as he walks off without another word. Orihime can't seem to force the smile from her face, partly because she can't find a reason to, and partly because she feels too exhilarated to let it go. She waits until she feels his reiatsu moving off before she places a soft pillow beside the sleeping Arrancar girls and kneels next to them attentively, waiting for them to wake.
It doesn't take much longer before Loly begins to stir. First groaning before her hand wanders up to clutch at her head and her eyes drift open lazily. She's dazed like that for a few moments, before her eyes fly open and she sits straight up looking frantically at her arm, only to find it exactly where it's supposed to be. She stares in disbelief before her eyes shoot to look at the serenely kneeling Orihime.
"W-What did you do?" Loly stammers softly. Her eyes are wide, and much to Orihime's surprise, the girl is terrified. She can't quite figure out how to answer that, so she just shrugs lightly before speaking.
"I rejected the damage done to you, that's the power of my Sōten Kisshun."
Loly listens to this, and it doesn't seem to do anything to settle her fears. She swallows hard, still staring in disbelief before she softly mutters.
"This power, how could you possibly have…" She stops then and desperately looks down to Menoly, her hands immediately searching her blissfully unconscious partner in crime. When she finds the girl there, with no apparent sign of injury she starts to slowly look around the room. She spies the blast left in the wall from Menoly's Cero, then slowly her eyes trail to the incision punched through the wall where Orihime had lanced Tsubaki at Menoly. Seeing both of these things her face screws up in confusion.
"But… it happened…" She insists softly, as if she isn't really even sure of it herself. All this time Orihime, aside from looking confused, remains in her place, kneeling beside the pair. Her eyes follow Loly's gaze, then watches as the Arrancar girl tries to piece it together.
"It did happen it's just that I…" Orihime has every intention of attempting to explain it, but she doesn't get the chance. Loly springs to her feet, leveling a finger at Orihime and proceeds to start yelling at her.
"Don't tell me it happened, what are you trying to say, that it happened and you made it un-happen? That's ridiculous! That's absurd! How could you possibly do such a thing?" she cries at the top of her lungs, causing Orihime's eyes to go wide as she leans back slightly in surprise. A nervous, unsure expression on the poor woman's face as she slowly lifts one hand, index finger extended upwards and she begins to explain.
"Well, actually you see I reject…" That's all she gets before Loly is on her again shouting, even more outraged than before.
"You reject? You just reject it and it goes away? So what happens if you reject gravity? What happens if you all the sudden say 'I reject the sky?' Are you even listening to yourself? That's completely crazy!" The absurdity of the claim makes Orihime glance from side to side hesitantly before she thoughtfully answers.
"You know, I've never tried that, I wonder what would happen if I did?" Her index finger slowly moves near the corner of her mouth as her eyes roll up towards the sky in curious contemplation. Needless to say, Loly is aghast. She takes several quick steps back before flinching and moving back to gather Menoly in her arms. Picking the other girl up bodily and pulling her away from Orihime, who can only watch bemused.
"Before you go, Master Ulquiorra said he wished to see you!" she calls after the retreating Loly in a sing-song voice. As the girl dashes off without reply Orihime is left to sit in confusion, wondering just what it was that set the poor girl off.
"Gee, she didn't take that well at all." Orihime speaks softly to herself before rising slowly to her feet. She leaves her suite, glancing to one side to see Loly. She's on one knee, trying to rouse the now groggily responsive Menoly, who's propped unceremoniously against the wall.
A small smile grows on Orihime's lips, genuinely happy to see the girl starting to recover. She turns to look down the other side of the corridor she's in, finding a large, broken crater on the wall opposite the door she's in. She knows that must be where her attack landed, the energy of it erupting after slicing through its intended target. It was a technique she had never realized Tsubaki could use, and it appeared if her intent was strong enough, she really could do quite a bit of damage. The thought brings an unusual smile to her lips and she turns back to face the Arrancar girls.
Loly has just managed to get Menoly's arm around her and is starting to help her to walk off when Orihime comes up to them.
"Loly, I want to say something to you." She says softly, watching as the girl freezes in place.
"I don't have anything to say to you… you're a monster." Her voice sounds cold, but it's edged with a fear that continues to confuse Orihime.
"Loly, turn around and hear what I have to say."
Command the respect of those beneath you. His words coming to her mind at the same time that Loly rigidly guides Menoly around, so they can both face Orihime.
"What?" she asks in exasperation. She wants to run, and it shows in every move she makes.
"I do not want you to become my enemy. But I no longer fear using my power. Master Ulquiorra commanded me to make sure that you understand that. And he ordered me to tell you to report to him when you were awake." She pauses. The girl is pale, breathing heavily and trying her best to remain quiet. It isn't respect, its fear, and Orihime knows this. But so long as Loly was terrified of her, she would never again try what she tried today.
"Now go." Orihime speaks the words like she has the authority to. Loly flinches before nodding once, moving a little more hastily to usher Menoly along. As she watches them go she marvels at the sensation. She had just bested this girl, and even though she hadn't wanted to fight them, she had. She had put her all into it and she had severely wounded them both, before the fight was called by a referee. Now that she had been victorious over Loly, the girl would more likely flee than fight, and would probably only fight to defend herself.
She turns and begins to walk down the corridor, thinking to herself along the way. It really was the only language that creatures would reliably understand in the world of the hollows. Hueco Mundo was predatory, untamed.
Wait…
Untamed, it seemed so simple to her then. Part of what Aizen had done here was to tame Hueco Mundo. He had taken the most powerful hollows he could find, and he had turned them into Arrancar, and of them he had chosen the Espada. In doing so he had created a chain of command in a world where only brutality had existed. And even in that chain of command the brutality persisted, but it was no longer just chaos. There had to be a way to push past that, to impose even more of an order on this feral existence.
Before she realizes it, she's at the door she'd been instructed to come to. The fourth down from the Espada's meeting hall. Slowly she steps up, taking a deep breath as the door slides open. What greets her is not exactly what she had been expecting. The room, larger than the suite she was in has more ornate furniture, a slightly larger bed, as well as an adjoining sitting room and bathroom. But none of that really separates it from any of the other suites she's seen. What sets it apart, is to one side, near a rather large window is large patch of the dust, and sand that makes up the desert of Hueco Mundo. Growing from the center of this patch is a nondescript, leafless tree. As she approaches she realizes that it's not really a tree, its silvery surface more resembling some sort of crystal. She takes this in, trying to understand what its significance could possibly be.
The musing goes on for some time before she yawns, violently. She blinks several times in surprise at the suddenness, and the intensity of the yawn and tries to remember when she last slept. She can't, it seemed like forever since she had last laid her head on the pillow, and she isn't even thinking about it as she strips down to her slip and hangs her dress up in a rather vacant closet. She moves tiredly towards the spacious bed, sliding into the exquisitely soft sheets and she's out cold within seconds of her head hitting the pillow.
Directly adjacent to the tower Orihime is in, the Espada Zommari Rereaux stood in a shaft of light filtering through a single high window. He had sensed the battle between his superiors, and after realizing Nnoitra had been destroyed he had come here in silent contemplation. It had been some time since that battle had taken place and he still couldn't be sure what exactly had ignited it, but he did have a pretty good idea. That human woman Lord Aizen had sent Ulquiorra to acquire. Nnoitra had been pretty overt at times on how he felt about females, even powerful Arrancar females. Zommari could only assume that such an attitude would have made his hatred flare, when he learned of Lord Aizen holding this human woman in such high regard.
But her technique was truly amazing, as Lord Aizen had said. He had watched with all the others as that seemingly powerless human woman had effortlessly restored Grimmjow's destroyed limb. Such a power was something that could be very useful in any number of instances, and he understood Lord Aizen's reasons for wanting to keep her close at hand. He knew that Ulquiorra, also understood the value of the human woman, and no doubt had been forced to destroy Nnoitra to protect her.
He notices Ulquiorra standing behind him, bathed in darkness before moving to sit to one side of Zommari. Neither tries to say anything, rather letting the silence carry the moment. A sudden surge of reiatsu floods the air and Zommari can feel both Wonderweiss and Hooleer moving to a freshly forming Garganta of massive proportions. He nods slightly to himself, finally speaking in his even, contemplative tone.
"It appears Lord Aizen is ready to end the fight. Soon, Ulquiorra, we will be victorious, and Lord Aizen will launch his attack on the Soul King!" There's a faint hint of exhilaration in Zommari's voice and he lifts his eyes to the window, even though nothing of this development can be seen.
Ulquiorra hears him speak and suddenly remembers hearing something very similar not too long ago. He doesn't respond, considering what could happen. The possibility that Aizen would ever return here was remote, something that Zommari had either not considered, or was not concerned by. But Ulquiorra wasn't very concerned by it either. His hands tucked into his pockets as he reclines in the comfortable lounge, he wonders what, if anything will come of this war. He had followed Aizen away from the first place that he had thought he felt happiness. A place that was as desolate and lifeless as he was. But the farther he got from that place, and the more real the possibility that Aizen would never return, there was just one thing left that he wished to think of. And it was very close. Close, and warm.
"… Soul King. It will be a glorious sight, and we shall all celebrate the new god of all souls, Lord Aizen!" Ulquiorra realizes that Zommari had still been talking. His brow furrows slightly and his eyes turn to regard the other Espada coolly.
"Zommari, be silent." He says it without hurry, and the other Espada turns to face him, his golden eyes flashing just a moment with something. Ulquiorra stands slowly and moves toward Zommari with his gaze drifting slowly around the sitting room.
"Haven't you ever considered the possibility that Aizen won't return here. That he will perish at the hands of the Soul Reapers and we will be left here in Las Noches." His voice carefully measured. The lightest of inflections accent his words as he poses the question.
At this Zommari's eyes widen ever so slightly in surprise. Then narrow again as he regards the Cuatro Espada with a very serious glare.
"That is almost heresy Ulquiorra… You would dare to claim that the meager forces of those Shinigami could possibly triumph over Lord Aizen?" His voice is slow, and it carries with it a sort of menace. The menace goes unnoticed by Ulquiorra, who raises one hand dismissively and turns his head in annoyance.
"Listen when I'm speaking to you Zommari, I asked if you had considered the possibility. You would be foolish not to plan for every outcome you can conceive of. How do you think Aizen made it this far in the first place?" The words are as close to a snap as Ulquiorra comes, and Zommari falls silent.
They can both feel it as the Garganta closes, Hooleer and Wonderweiss gone from the world of Hollows.
"If Aizen sends word for us to come as reinforcements, I will not be responding." It's a simple statement. And that subtle tone in Ulquiorra's voice leaves no question of its sincerity. He's moved towards the window, a bit closer, leaving his back to Zommari.
"That is treason Ulquiorra." Zommari is already grasping the hilt of his Zanpakuto, Brujeria. He starts to move, but he stops when Ulquiorra speaks.
"Think very carefully Zommari, about what you're about to do. Think carefully about your place." He doesn't even look back. Zommari feels a hot rage flare through him, the arrogant challenge of leaving his back exposed while making such a statement. Slowly his hand releases Brujeria, and he closes his eyes a moment to regain his composure.
"If you wish to go throw yourself at Aizen's feet then do so. I won't try and stop you, but he is never going to return here, and I am going to start preparing for our future beyond that, with or without you." Ulquiorra speaks bluntly. He turns, looking to Zommari, before walking directly past him towards the door.
"Aizen is a Soul Reaper, and even now I'm not sure why I ever trusted him in the first place. He may have shown us a new path, but he definitely isn't going to lead us down it." It's the last thing he says as he exits the room and Zommari looks after him for a while, contemplating his words. Perhaps there was some truth in them, but could they truly forsake the man that had given them so much?
Ulquiorra descends the stairs, towards the central hub that links all of the towers on the dome. When he's traversing the distance between the towers he spies two figures moving towards him. Loly and Menoly approach quickly before coming to a halt in front of him. He walks right past them, continuing towards the other tower.
"U-Ulquiorra, the human woman told us that you wished to see us?" Menoly ventures quietly, before the two of them start to nervously follow.
"I hope that you two have learned a lesson today." He speaks softly, listening as both of the girls hesitate before one of them speaks.
"I can't believe that bitch…" Loly mutters under her breath, Menoly flinches and elbows her partner sharply, putting a stop to that vocalization. Ulquiorra smirks ever so slightly and shakes his head just a bit.
"I will be making an announcement, in the next day or two. When I do I will want you to summon all of the Numeros, and all of the Adjuchas to the front gate of Las Noches." He steps into the entry way of the dimly lit tower. Loly and Menoly exchange looks, then hurry to follow.
"Why, what's happened? Has Lord Aizen finally broken their lines, and taken the battle to the Sereitei?" Loly asks quickly, very interested until Ulquiorra stops, and glances back over his shoulder. His look stops them both dead in their tracks.
"Be prepared to do as I command. When there is more that you need to know, I will tell you." He speaks to them coldly, before he starts to move off again. They linger there a bit longer, before they slowly start to go about the task he had given them. As Ulquiorra continues up the stairs towards his chambers he's thinking intently about the possibilities of what lay ahead. Part of him expected Aizen to return, smiting his Cuatro Espada for such insolence. But the stronger piece of him, the part that Orihime was trying so hard to reach, knew that he would never return, no matter what the outcome of that fight. Aizen had been a lynchpin that had pulled them all together. They were a completely dysfunctional band that had managed to share the same walls with few incidents. But it was just tolerating one another. Aside from their Fracción, the Espada didn't work with anyone. The whole reason Las Noches was so incredibly large, was simply to give them all room, so they wouldn't be at each other's throats constantly.
It was just a matter of time now, soon everything would be decided, and until that time there was no merit in contemplating the unknown. As he reaches the door to his chambers it slips open. Inside he can see Orihime on his bed, curled warmly in the soft sheets provided. It's a bed he's never used, instead moving over to sit lightly, with his back against the desert tree. He relaxes, closing his eyes. He hadn't brought the original tree to him, but rather made a facsimile. The original remained where it was unlikely to be found, but here this little substitute occasionally afforded him peace, and some measure of contentment. He leans back and lets his eyes close. He slowly examines the world around him for any unusual traces of spiritual pressure. When he is certain nothing is out of the ordinary, he rests quietly against his tree and begins to let his thoughts wander.
They don't wander far.
Orihime is floating in a space that is both relaxing and invigorating. She has no idea how long she's been here, maybe forever? No, she knows she was somewhere else before, somewhere much different. She becomes aware of six others with her here, and as she begins to glance about she sees them. Lily, Tsubaki, Hinagiku, Baigon, Ayame, and Shun'ō, they are the six fragments of her spirit that form her Shun-Shun Rikka. She can't hear them, but she knows they are speaking to her, words that she may as well be speaking herself.
She sees them, moving in their usual formations. First Tsubaki, streaks forward in a swath of light before returning to hover directly in front of her. She is standing now in the ether of her mind, watching as Ayame and Shun'ō cross paths to form her Sōten Kisshun, each sprite now on either side of her. Hinagiku, Lily, and Baigon are next streaking into their triangular formation to form Santen Kesshun, with two of the points directly in front of her, the third point lays flat, leaving the triangle beneath her feet and the third point directly behind her.
As Orihime looks around she recognizes their formation: three isosceles triangles overlapping under her feet to form a pentagram. Tsubaki continues to flutter directly in front of her and as she looks down the words come to her mind.
Ama no Toride, Citadel of Heaven. As she turns, the points around her stay relative to her body, turning as she does. She raises one hand, and Tsubaki leaps forward, cleaving across her vision to follow the motion of her hand. Slowly she lifts her other hand palm flat and facing forward, and instantly the third point of Santen Kesshun leaps up, forming the triangular barrier in front of her. It lays back down as her hand drops. Tsubaki returns to hover in front of her, swirling in lazy figure eights. The two points of her Sōten Kisshun break out at wide angles to encompass the entire pentagram, bathing the area in a warm restorative light.
Orihime realizes that this must be the true, fully released form of her Shun-Shun Rikka. With all of her abilities working in unison to form a fortress capable of extreme defense, while still being able to attack at foes. Slowly they all split away, pleasure running through every fiber of her being. She can't be sure if it's from them, or if it's hers, but since they are a part of her, she decides the point is moot.
Ulquiorra is standing behind her. Not really, but she can feel his presence, cold and comforting as his words drift into her mind.
Do you accept me, Orihime?
The very thought seems to bring Hinagiku, Lily, and Baigon returning to hover in front of her. But this time they do not form a triangle. They begin to fly in a tight, vertical circle, only a foot apart. She looks at this formation as something important begins to dawn on her. She can't quite wrap her mind about it and slowly the dream begins to fade from her and consciousness begins to return.
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